Good Poker: Talent or Discipline?

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Feb 13,2010

Talent is an ambiguous word. The extent to which a person\’s potential is revealed depends on the goals that person sets. Nobody ever relied on pure talent, unless their output was entirely spontaneous or simplistically minimalist. What distinguished the greatest players in any discipline has always been their willingness to be talented, their willingness to train themselves. Most people have potential and know what talent is, but they either romanticize it or knowingly avoid it, preferring an easy life.

Great players do not romanticize their abilities and do not avoid exertion. They are critical towards themselves and constantly work to improve themselves. That is, like everybody, they begin by having a general sense of what talented play would be in relation to the present poker tradition, but they go beyond occasional slight talent by impose a rigid discipline on themselves.

To become a successful player you will have to practice incessantly and constantly learn from your practice. This learning you will in turn convert into an efficient method by trial and error.

So, talent is disciplined, and undisciplined talent is luck. Your basic amateur is heavily dependent on luck. Taking a chance is the thrill that keeps them at the table. The pro with disciplined talent is hell-bent on reducing chance to the lowest point possible. He is not interested in adrenaline rushes or surprises with the odd win. The pro\’s objective is to empty his opponents\’ wallets on a consistent basis, no matter how weak or strong the opponents may be. He is doing battle against chance and against the proven methods of good players.

A pro\’s methodology starts with a study in self-awareness. Those who undergo self-criticism, find weak spots and ignore them will never seek out another activity that they just might be good at. They may even deny that poker is not for them and create a wonderful fantasy poker life for themselves – every professional\’s dream opponent.

The decision as to which poker to play is the first step for the expert player. The challenges in limit poker are quite different than those found in no-limit. To play limit poker well demands patience and a certain risk-avoidance type of personality. It also requires time to learn its advantages and the methods to play it well. To play no-limit well, an antithetical list of qualities are engaged. No-limit thrives on what is seemingly acts of random aggression performed by a cool calculating personality.

Cockiness is a common flaw among amateurs allowing them to play without restraint. The concentration is on the knowledge that they are \”good\” players and do not ever run into a losing situation where they should fold up their tent. On the other hand if you are the kind of player who is not impressed with yourself, but your goal is to win lots of hands consistently, you know well when to beat a hasty retreat and cut your losses.

Everyone will find themselves in hot water on occasion, the pro clearly identifies the situation and will get out before the water becomes even hotter. The last of his worries is losing face.

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